Extreme power prices during evening peaks

The beginning of last week was marked by extreme prices during the evening peaks. For example, on Monday evening, the price in Germany soared above 500 €/MWh, and in the Netherlands, hour 19 closed at 463 €/MWh. There was little to no wind generation in almost all countries in Northwestern Europe. As a result, many gas and coal-fired power plants had to start up after the weekend, leading to a significant increase in prices. Tuesday saw a similar situation, but because many power plants were already running on Monday, the effect was limited. Nevertheless, the power price also briefly surged to 260 €/MWh on Tuesday evening. Throughout the week, clean spark spreads remained positive, and the average power price was 112.4 €/MWh compared to 99.4 €/MWh the previous week. The average gas price was 35.5 €/MWh.
Gas prices for the coming months increased slightly. October became 2 euros more expensive, closing at 36.5 €/MWh. November and December each increased by 70 cents, closing at 45 €/MWh and 50.4 €/MWh, respectively. CO2 became 80 cents more expensive and closed at 82.3 €/EUA.
For October, the Dutch power contract became about 30 cents cheaper, closing at 92.4 €/MWh. The clean spark spread deteriorated by almost 5 euros and dropped to -6.5 €/MWh. The spark spread for December improved by one and a half euros but remained negative at -0.6 €/MWh.

The French government published several recommendations aimed at shaping its future energy and climate policies. By 2035, proposals hint towards the realization of approximately 18 GW of offshore capacity and increasing the installed capacity of solar energy to approximately 75 GW. In the field of nuclear energy, suggestions include improving the availability of existing nuclear reactors, exploring the potential to increase the maximum capacity of multiple plants, and assessing whether nuclear power plants can remain operational beyond 50 to 60 years. Furthermore, a decision must be made by 2026 on whether to build additional (EPR2) reactors.
For next year, CO2 and gas prices hardly changed. CO2 for 2024 became nearly 1 euro more expensive, ending the week at 86.5 €/EUA. Gas also increased by one euro, closing at 52.1 €/MWh. The Dutch power contract became almost 2 euros more expensive, ultimately reaching 124.1 €/MWh. The clean spark spread deteriorated by 0.60 euros, ending at -6.3 €/MWh.

Weekly changes